Tom And His Lamps

[Overbeyond]

Well after spending £15, a half hour trying to find the exit out of Ikea and another twenty minutes finding my car in the carpark I finally got home with my two desk/work lamps. No imbrellas here Gary yet. I know absolutely nothing about this sort of stuff. But here are two images I got using this cheap crap and I am willing to hear any critique and advice at all that could help me improve things. It's amazing what a little pencil line border and some tweaks in PS can do to improve what were honestly poor originals.

[MB1]

My first thought is that these are crazy dark. Too dark actually.

[CLKunst]

Tom -

I recently acquired a few portable lights that are basically over glorified desk lamps too, except with stands and umbrellas and they are daylight balanced. I like to bring them along to portrait shoots for additional lighting and love them for the portability and clean light where I need it. These shots are a little too dark for a new light demonstration. Bringing them in closer will help of course, as well as bumping the ISO on the camera.

The leaf looks quite vivid and I like it quite a bit. Good luck with your set up.

[F-15_Flyer]

Love the illuminance of the leaf.

[AgingEyes]

My first thought is that these are crazy dark. Too dark actually.

I agree. I don't know if it's crazy dark but it IS dark. But, darkness can bring out some kind of mood that brightness can't

OK, I took the liberty to open up the first photo. And I like what I saw. Really. The mood and the lighting... But, it's your photo so you do what you see fit.

[gahspidy]

lol, well first off I dig the title of the thread. Almost a magical ring to it . . .and then when i opened up and saw the photos I felt the same kind of magic in these as did the ring of the title. Yes, they are dark, but there is alot of mood here and just enough detail to stimulate the eye and the mind. I only am not too keen on the object in the bg of the box, and perhaps havig the box alone in the center with the moody light would be enough. I do like the back lit leaf alot. there is vibrant color and detail. A good piece of work there.
Bravo Tom, your a very creative one

[Overbeyond]

Thanks everybody.
The idea behind the box shot was to convey a mood of dark mystery similar to what might be felt behind a backroom curtain in some dodgy backstreet shop in a far eastern country; just like the films. I was hoping that the Chinese lantern in the background, with it's nightlight inside, might provide enough light to create this mystery of wanting to open the box but a fear of doing so. One of my state of the art Ikea lamps provided whatever extra light was needed but perhaps not enough. I would have liked the shadows of the lantern to be more prominent on the wall than they turned out. For this shot the table and wall behind was covered with black mat board that I use for my prints.

The leaf is a dead fallen leaf that must have been lying on the soil on the top of its pot for a week or two. I really liked its "burned" edges, giving a red and black that reminded me of Mark Rothkos play with colours. My wife has a Rothko poster of this combination of red/black. The background is a black shirt of mine, known to our children as the "Johnny Cash". I pulled the lamp right down to within inches of the leaf giving it strong illumination but over illuminating the black fabric. In PS I blackenned all the surround making the leaf look as if it was backlit, just as Gary pointed out. A bit like ET's chest when it lit up in the incubator. I didn't find any of this easy trying to make the the subjects properly illuminated and I must have spent more than half a day getting this much.

What I think I need is a light that does not spread it's beam too far; perhaps I could make up something to reduce the spread. So thats it. I may try another one next weekend. Sorry if all this has bored anyone..
BTW I liked Aging Eyes line "But, darkness can bring out some kind of mood that brightness can't". I felt a bit rescued when reading that.

[CLKunst]

This link might help Tom, it's for a homemade snoot. The process could be applied to anything as long as you use something flat, black and inflammable.

[Overbeyond]

Thanks Cindy definitely something worth thinking about.

[MB1]

...The process could be applied to anything as long as you use something flat, black and inflammable.

Perhaps you meant non-falmmable or perhaps you were looking for some flame people self portraits. :blush2:

[CLKunst]

Perhaps you meant non-falmmable or perhaps you were looking for some flame people self portraits. :blush2:

:blush2: I did. Oops. I always get that wrong. Someday that might "backfire" on me. . .
[Rimshot please.] Tom, I assume you also knew better but were too kind to point it out.

[Overbeyond]

I don't pay attention to this important stuff Cindy. Perhaps MB could have cropped it out

[Greg McCary]

Nice and moody Tom. I like the lighting as well. My monitor is on the bright side so it looks fine to me. Candles work well too in work like this. Well done with these.

[GB1]

Tom - Personally, I find them well done and professional looking. The matte looks museum quality too. Well done. The lamp one is quite dark, but I'm not going to say it's too dark or whatever, really depends on what the intended purpose is.

MB, you're starting to sound like a bit like Ronnoco ...

Gb

[gahspidy]

The background is a black shirt of mine, known to our children as the "Johnny Cash". I pulled the lamp right down to within inches of the leaf giving it strong illumination but over illuminating the black fabric. In PS I blackenned all the surround making the leaf look as if it was backlit, just as Gary pointed out. A bit like ET's chest when it lit up in the incubator.

LOL, I never cease to be impressed by your photography and amused by your sense of humor. btw, the leaf is alot more pleasing than ET's glowing chest. . .

[PrevailingConditions]

I quite like the leaf. Great colors and the lighting is pretty good too. I like the other as well, but it's a little too dark. I wouldn't want to open it up too much or else you would spoil the mood, but a little more so I wouldn't have to squint.

PC

[Overbeyond]

Thanks Greg, GB1, Gary and PC. I'm going to try another homemade shot at the weekend . Have to get back some return after that investment in the Ikea torches.
I find that when box shot appears it does seem very dark indeed but after a few seconds it's like it adjusts to suit my eyes and light appears.

[gahspidy]

I find that when box shot appears it does seem very dark indeed but after a few seconds it's like it adjusts to suit my eyes and light appears.

Yes, I agree. I think all that is really needed in the lighting of the box is to give more of a hint of the bottom area and the table it sits on. Showing a bit of the outline of the box on the bottom would help bring it all out of the dark. Maybe just a reflector held near the front to direct a bit of the lighting towards the bottom end.

[Tyson L. Sparks]

Too dark for me.